Texas Gov. Rick Perry will immediately send up to 1,000 National Guard troops to help secure the southern border , where tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors from Central America have crossed into the United States this year in a surge that is deemed a humanitarian crisis .

Perry also wants President Barack Obama and Congress to hire an additional 3,000 border patrol agents for the Texas border , which would eventually replace the temporary guard forces .

`` I will not stand idly by , '' Perry said in Austin Monday , announcing what he called Operation Strong Safety . `` The price of inaction is too high . ''

Perry 's state has received the majority of migrant children , especially in the Rio Grande region , and he has repeatedly called on the federal government to beef up border security .

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the White House has not yet received the formal communication required for Perry to deploy guard troops .

But he said if Perry follows through , he hopes those forces would be coordinated `` with the significant ongoing efforts already in place . ''

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The Rio Grande sector , where most of the immigrant children are turning themselves into the border patrol , has a large number of agents but it is also the largest crossing .

It currently has 3,000 border patrol agents covering 320 miles of land and 250 miles of water , which equates to 5.4 agents per mile . The Tucson sector , for instance , has approximately 15.7 agents per mile .

Both Perry and Obama have the authority to deploy National Guard troops , but whoever authorizes it has to pay for it . The deployment at Perry 's direction means Texas will have to pick up the price tag of $ 12 million per month .

One border sheriff , Omar Lucio of Cameron County , said he is skeptical of Perry 's plan .

`` At this time , a lot of people do things for political reasons . I do n't know that it helps , '' he told the Dallas Morning News .

Conservatives largely point to border security as their top immigration priority and Perry has been an outspoken proponent of securing the border since the influx of immigrants began .

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The potential 2016 presidential candidate previewed his plan in Iowa over the weekend in a television interview while campaigning for Republican candidates .

He has used the issue to remake his image on immigration . His previous White House campaign was crippled partly because of a law he signed giving children of undocumented immigrants in-state college tuition .

Obama asked for $ 3.7 billion in emergency funds to address the influx of young immigrants , which has n't gained much traction in Congress . It includes money to fortify the border .

The House and Senate are working on their own plan , which includes a controversial proposal to change a law that prohibits the youth , mostly from El Salvador , Honduras , and Guatemala , from being immediately deported .

The Obama administration questioned Perry 's motives since many of the minors are not trying to evade the border patrol but are turning themselves in after crossing the border .

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But Perry said the guard will be `` force multipliers , '' helping Customs and Border Protection agents both on the ground and in the air to catch the 80 % of people crossing the border who are n't children and to combat cartel and trafficking crime .

`` You can not have -LRB- national security -RRB- without border security , '' Perry said .

While the number of unaccompanied youth crossing the border has doubled to nearly 60,000 in the past year , the total number of undocumented immigrants has mostly declined . About 1 million people have been caught crossing the border nearly every year between 1983 until 2006 , but that number has dropped to about 400,000 in 2013 .

At the same time , resources for border security have steadily increased : More than 18,000 agents patrolled the border in 2013 compared to 10,000 a decade ago .

And the amount spent on border security has more than doubled . The Customs and Border Patrol budget jumped from $ 5 billion in 2002 to $ 12.4 billion this year .

The issue has hit a national nerve . Protests have erupted along the border with activists demanding immediate deportation . Counter protests have also erupted , pointing out that many of the migrants are said to have fled violence at home .

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Texas Gov. Rick Perry announces plans to fortify security at southern border

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He asked President Barack Obama previously to send guard troops

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Nearly 60,000 unaccompanied minors have crossed the border since October

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The situation is called a humanitarian crisis , and is at the center of the immigration debate